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Solemia is a bay filly with a white star bred in Ireland by the Wertheimer family. She was sired by the Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Poliglote and was the last foal of the mare Brooklyn's Dance, winner of the Prix Cleopatre. Both of Solemia's parents were owned and bred by the Wertheimers. Before Solemia's arrival, Poliglote's best flat racer had been the dual Grand Prix de Deauville winner Irish Wells. In recent years he has had some success as a sire of steeplechasers.[1] Brooklyn's Dance produced five other stakes winners including the Prix Greffulhe winner Prospect Wells and was also closely related on her dam's side to many good winners including Green Dancer, Authorized, Makfi and Alhaarth.[2]

Solemia is trained at Chantilly by the Spanish-born Carlos Laffon-Parias, and has been ridden to all her successes by Olivier Peslier.[3]

Solemia did not appear as a two-year-old until October 17 when she finished unplaced in a maiden race at Longchamp. Fifteen days later she recorded her first success when Olivier Peslier rode her to a six length win in a minor race at Maisons-Laffitte.[4]

As a three-year-old, Solemia ran four times at Saint-Cloud in minor stakes races, finishing fifth, third and second before winning her second race in the Listed Prix Joubert over 2400 metres on 30 September. Solemia was moved up to Group class for the first time for her final start of the year in the Prix du Conseil de Paris, in which she was matched against colts and older horses. She finished strongly but failed by a neck to catch the colt Vadamar.[5]

Solemia began her four-year-old season impressively, with a four length win in the Listed Prix Lord Seymour at Longchamp in April. A month later she was made favourite for the Group Three Prix d'Hedouville but was beaten three lengths a head by the British gelding Allied Powers and the filly Molly Malone. She was later promoted to second when the runner-up was disqualified for causing interference.[6] In the Prix Corrida at the end of May at Saint-Cloud, Solemia started at odds of 3/1 in a field which included the 2011 Arc de Triomphe runner-up Shareta. In a closely contested finish, she held off the late challenge of Shareta to win by a nose with Siyouma and Andromeda Galaxy less than a length behind. The Wertheimers' racing manager Pierre-Charles Bureau called the winner "very brave" and nominated the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud as a likely target, explaining his view that the filly would be better over a longer distance.[7] The form of the race worked out well: Shareta won the Yorkshire Oaks and Prix Vermeille while Siyouma won the Sun Chariot Stakes.

After a break of two months, Solemia returned to finish fourth in the Prix de Pomone in August and then finished third to Shareta and Pirika in the Prix Vermeille. In the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Solemia started at odds of 41/1 in a field of eighteen which had been weakened by the late withdrawals of Snow Fairy (injury),[8]Danedream (travel restrictions) and Nathaniel (illness).[9] The leading contenders included the Japanese Triple Crown winner Orfevre, The Derby winner Camelot and the improving filly Great Heavens. Peslier positioned Solemia just behind the leaders before taking the lead early in the straight. Orfevre moved past her and took a clear lead 200 metres from the finish but Solemia rallied to regain the lead in the last strides and won by a neck. After the race, Laffon-Parias praised Peslier's performance and admitted that he never expected the filly to win, saying that he had "hoped she might get a place".[10] Solemia's success gave Peslier a record-equaling fourth success in the race, following Helissio (1996), Peintre Celebre (1997) and Sagamix (1998).[11]